A website about diabetes in children and adolescents: interactive contents and evolution

Abstract

Objective: To describe and analyze the evolution of the “Diabetes in Children and Adolescents” site, since its launch, in November, 2007. News items, articles, reading material, legal issues, interviews, surveys, activities, letters, links and the Newsletter were all quantified, from inception date through to March 2009. 164 user messages were analyzed. Each message was established as a unit of analysis and assigned several codes; they were also analyzed to establish presence/absence of various coding categories. Over 350,000 pages were visited; 400 news items, 26 articles and 12 pdf-format books published; 50 legal questions dealt with; resident experts answered over 1,500 user-questions in our Interview section; 1,000 people were polled, in 25 surveys; as many as 30 new activities and projects were announced; 200 Quick Links were created; we received over 200 letters from over 22,000 Newsletter subscribers. Forums: topics discussed were: family (70.1%), symptoms (63.4%), informational support (51.2%), optimism (55.5%), gratitude (48.2%), emotional support (34.1%), discrimination (6.7%), sadness (5.5%). This website answers the need for information and experience-exchange among those users whom it was designed for, as proven by the rapid growth rate shown by each of the site’s interactive sections.